France says Russian President Vladimir Putin has told his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron that he intends to withdraw troops from Belarus after military exercises.
French President Emmanuel Macron, speaking by telephone with Mr Putin, said the two countries had agreed to find a diplomatic way to resolve the Ukraine crisis.
The French and Russian foreign ministers are expected to hold further talks on Monday.
Meanwhile, Russian forces have extended military exercises in Belarus. The exercises were scheduled to end on Sunday.
A statement from Belarus’s Defense Ministry said that the deteriorating situation in eastern Ukraine was one of the reasons why about 30,000 Russian troops were being held there.
The move raises fears that Russia may seek to invade Ukraine, which shares a long border with Belarus.
Western leaders have accused Moscow of seeking to withdraw troops, but Russia has denied that Guevara is planning an attack on neighboring Ukraine.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blanken has said that the extension of military exercises shows that the world is on the brink of war.
Boris Johnson and a number of other world leaders are currently meeting in Munich, Germany, for an international security conference, and the current situation in Ukraine is a key item on the agenda.
According to Johnson, intelligence indicates that Russia intends to lay siege to the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, after the invasion.
The U.S. government estimates that between 170,000 and 190,000 Russian troops are currently stationed near the Ukrainian border.
